


It's All Downhill From Here

by Piyo13 (orphan_account)



Series: Blood, Sweat, and Frozen Tears [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpine skiing to be exact, M/M, Olympics AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:33:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Piyo13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meet Eren Jäger, 17-year-old alpine prodigy from Bavaria. This is his first Olympics, and he has to remind himself to take it at least a little slower than usual- he doesn't want to crash and shatter any cameras once he's reached the finish, after all. </p><p>Meet Levi, 19-year-old pairs' skater-turned-coach when he tore his ACL several years ago, leaving him with bittersweet memories of skiing in general. This is his first Olympics, and, truth be told, he thought he'd be more impressed (he also thought he'd be competing). </p><p>Or, rather, how about they meet each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In with a crash

**Author's Note:**

> 85% of this is made-up Olympics stuff. 
> 
> Jäger not Yeager cause... he's German. Jäger. (Also it looks cooler, okay?)
> 
> E for future chapter.

Levi supposes he should be a bit more impressed than he is. Well, it’s not that he’s _not_ impressed- but big buildings only do so much for him. It’s the people that make a place, and though Hange, Erwin, and Armin all seem to have befriended the rest of the team rather easily, Levi’s… not really cut out for the whole “friendship” deal. Hange told him he should try and smile a bit more, in order to “look friendlier” or something like that. Levi had scowled deeper at her as she’d waltzed off, laughing. To go hang out with her new friends.

And no, Levi isn’t jealous.

He shuffles around a bit more, sending evil glares at all the people he meets as he wanders aimlessly. He really doesn’t know what he’s trying to achieve, wandering out the Olympic village like he is. He _could_ go watch other events- the preliminary skating competition had been yesterday, and Erwin and Armin (“his two” is what he thinks of them as, but like hell he’ll tell them) had easily skated into finals, and are probably still sleeping at the moment- but… well, truth be told, he’d like to, but the only one he wants to see is also inaccessible to him. _Days off really suck_ , he thinks as he glares at a cheerful group of people carrying skis across the courtyard. Judging by the multi-colored uniforms they’re wearing, they’re Germans.

Levi keeps walking, concentrating on his feet and the scratchiness of his sweater (he wishes he’d competed for France instead- now _those_ were nice coats), until he’s brought to an abrupt stop by a shoulder in his face.

“Ow, what the fuck,” he mutters, stepping back and rubbing his nose, which throbs slightly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” says a concerned voice, and Levi looks up (always up), his eyes widening slightly as he recognizes the face before him. “Oh! Levi?!”

“Ian,” Levi says, tearing his hand away from his nose to shake his old high school classmate and- apparently, judging from his badge- now reporter’s hand.

“Levi! Wow, this has been like, what, six years?” Ian is enthusiastic, shaking Levi’s hand slightly longer than necessary, the camera slung across his chest bouncing a little with his motions.

“Yeah, something like that,” Levi pauses for a second, unsure of how to continue. Are they even considered friends anymore…?

Clearly, this doesn’t faze Ian, and he immediately takes up the thread of conversation. “Wow! And you're here-” Ian’s eyes dart to the blue square displayed clearly on a lanyard around Levi’s neck, the badge of identification he was instructed to wear at all times lest he be kicked out (Levi wouldn’t give two fucks about it, really, but if it mean endangering his skaters’ chances, he’ll comply).

“Coach,” Levi grunts in affirmation, and Ian’s eyes light up.

“No way! How’d that even happen?! You’re so young! What do you coach?”

“Tore an ACL skiing, couldn’t continue with any sports. Friend of mine decided he wanted to go to the Olympics, and asked me to turn my not-sport time into coaching time…” Levi shrugs. “So I did.”

“So your friend’s here too? Competing?” Ian asks, before Levi can continue of his own accord. Levi’s eyebrow twitches.

“Yeah, Erwin Smith and Armin Arlert-“

“No fucking way, dude! The figure skaters?!”

Levi nods, and Ian practically bounces where he stands. “Oh man! They’re projected to do great this year! Up-and-coming stars! I only caught the tail-end of their performance yesterday, that’s probably why I didn’t see you! Incredible! Hey…”

Levi feels a sinking of his stomach as Ian’s tone takes a meek, questioning turn, but nonetheless raises an eyebrow in question.

“You don’t think you’d be able to give me an interview?”

Yup, there it is. Levi decides that they definitely can’t be considered friends even more. But whatever, he’s a coach now, he should be able to give his team a bit of publicity, no? Levi shrugs. “Now?” he asks, rather hoping Ian says no. Instead, Ian looks at his watch, curses, looks around, and then back to Levi.

“Right now won’t work, I’m supposed to be over at the men’s downhill- they wanted me to get in a few shorts of their practice and look at preliminary times- you wanna come with? Then we can do the interview as soon as they’re done. If that works, of course, I know coaches are usually busy taking care of their athletes-“

Levi chuckles a bit at that- both Armin and Erwin are so uptight that he almost _wishes_ he had to scold them for something, _anything_. But no, perfect diets, perfect off-ice training- hell, perfect _on_ -ice training. “No, I’m not really busy-“

“Excellent! So you’ll come?” Ian says, not waiting for Levi’s response but rather grabbing his wrist and moving away, forcing Levi to either jog and keep up or fall and be dragged along. Levi feels mixed sensations- while he loves downhill skiing, he also hates it. He’d been skiing downhill, after all, when he’d slipped on a patch of concealed ice, sent right off the course with a ski catching on one of the neighboring trees. Not exactly a fun night.

They’re bundled into a small van with several other reporters, the cacophony of mixed languages ringing pleasantly around. Eventually the conversation switches to English simply because everyone speaks it, and the twenty-minutes rid passes with reporters gossiping about hopefuls and whose team is doing what. The Germans, especially, seem convinced that they’re got a young star on their team. Eren Jäger- Levi recognizes the name from having watched the European Championships- is apparently the favorite (internationally, claim the Germans, but that’s a stock claim). From what he remembers of his form, though, Levi thinks he might have a shot.

They arrive, and Ian’s back to grabbing Levi’s wrist and dragging him over. They’re a bit early, and spend the time pushing through to the plasticated net that separates the spectators from the runout, Levi using his size and his glare to his advantage, sneaking through until he’s able to lean comfortably against the stiffened top edge. The skiers begin their rounds a few minutes later, and Levi’s breath mists in front of him as he fixes his eyes on the large screen. The first up is a Swedish skier, Solm Hume, and though he makes good time, Levi doesn’t think he’s anything all that special. He’s a bit shady on the sharpest turn of the course, too. He skids up a bit of snow as he comes to a stop, but only a few wind-blown wisps hit Levi, and he decides that the view is worth a bit of snow anyways.

There’s three more- the Italian seems to be in good shape- and then Eren Jäger steps up to the starting block. Levi, despite his best efforts to the contrary, is instantly transfixed. Jäger hasn’t brought his goggles down yet, and his eyes are bright and what portions of his face Levi can see hold a promise of handsomeness. His suit clings tightly to his chest, which is a bit more filled out than one would expect of a seventeen-year-old, but Levi finds he really doesn’t mind as Jäger snaps his goggles into place and leans forward, preparing himself to go.

The bell sounds, and Jäger jumps out and forward, coming into the first turn smoothly, and Levi can now see exactly what the journalists in the van were going off about- Jäger’s form is nigh on perfect, and speeds like the ones he’s hitting should be dangerous, not graceful as he makes them. His skis fling up snow as he takes another turn, immediately switching directions as the course curves and Jäger preps himself for the only drop on the course, a monster of a twenty-meter flight. Jäger takes off, and the camera zooms out just as he does a 360 before landing a good forty meters farther down the course, curving smoothly straight into the final passes, hardly losing speed as he tucks his poles under his arms and accelerates down the last stretch.  The murmur of the journalists all around him has risen, and Levi finds himself just as entranced- and excited- as them.

It’s only once the thought has fully processed with him that Levi realizes that _Jäger is on the last stretch of the course and_ most definitely _not making any effort to slow down._ Levi rips his eyes off the screen and focuses on the actual skier, who is speeding towards him at way-too-fucking-fast miles per hour. Levi tenses up, fully prepared to move out of the way, only to realize he’s boxed in by journalists on all sides.

He has no recourse left but to watch in mounting horror as Jäger barrels forward, skidding sideways at the last possible second, throwing up a sheet of snow directly into Levi’s face. And then crashing directly into Levi. The quasi-rail, luckily, absorbs most of Jäger’s impact, but Levi still scowls and fixes him with the fiercest glare he can muster, rubbing his upper arm at the spot where the pole handle had made contact.

“Ach, so sorry!” says a heavily accented voice for the second time that day, and Jäger pulls off him helmet as he clumsily backs away from the net, skis hindering his path now that he’s no longer in motion. He makes eye contact with Levi, his eyebrows scrunches together almost comically in worry, but only one thought runs through Levi’s mind.

_Oh no, he’s hot._


	2. clearing the jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, this took... way too long. Sorry ^^;;
> 
> Once again, I know diddly squat about actual Olympics- while this is based in Sochi, technically, I'm honestly making it all up- and I may or may not have butchered the German language.... Haha... /cue nervous laughter  
> (But seriously, if you see any errors [German OR English] please tell me!)  
> ((Many thanks to onetruepotato for their help fixing my atrocious German grammar <3))
> 
> Theme song for this chapter is: [Einmal um die Welt](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qghszq7UDhY)

The next morning, Levi peruses the breakfast bar, searching desperately for some sort of granola bar. Finally spotting it, he makes a beeline over to the bin, rummaging through the variously colored wrappers for a couple of seconds, eventually settling on one that looks like it might be blueberry (he can’t really tell because everything is written in Cyrillic- but the little illustration is round and blue so why not). Setting it on his tray, Levi turns and runs smack into someone.

“ _Scheiße!_ ” the other person exclaims, their hands reaching out to stabilize Levi’s tray. They’re darkly tanned, a skin tone that seems familiar- Levi’s eyes dart up, making eye contact with the person across him, and yep- “Oh! You are the person I ran into yesterday! I looked for you--”

Stupid Eren Jäger with his stupidly green eyes and his stupidly handsome face and his stupidly bright smile. “Yes, and now you’ve run into me _again_ , asshole,” Levi grumbles, and the smile on Eren’s face dips a bit.

“Ach, I am really very sorry about that! I was not… ähm… how do you say it? I had no chance to apologize!”

 _Well, great_ , Levi thinks. _Even his fucking stupid_ accent _is cute._ He doesn’t intend to be as scathing as he is, really, but his tone is still acerbic as he says, “So you apologize by fucking running into me _again_ , is that it?”

Eren looks positively mortified now, and that almost makes Levi wish he could retract his words. But then a sly grin overcomes Eren’s features, and he blinks disarmingly at Levi.

“Three time’s the charm?” he says, sidestepping Levi’s tray and bumping his hip against Levi’s. Levi’s eyes widen, and he can feel a blush begin to creep up his face. He takes a step away, mouth open for some bitter retort, when he’s forestalled by- of all people, _really_ \- Hange.

“Levi! I was looking for- oh! Who’s this? Hi! I’m Hange!” she exclaims as she spots Eren, waving and extending a hand over Levi’s shoulder. Eren’s coquettishness is gone, and Levi glares as the two shake hands, all pleasantry and smiles.  

“Are you guys done yet?” he grumbles, his fingers clenching over the granola-bar laden tray. “Some of us actually had plans to _eat_ today…”

“Hey! Eren! Why don’t you come sit with us?” Hange invites, and Levi elbows her in the stomach. She makes a soft ‘oof’ noise, but continues smiling at Eren as he nods enthusiastically, looking around.

“Can my sister come?” he asks, and now it’s Hange’s turn to nod enthusiastically, Levi rolling his eyes at the two of them. Eren’s grin widens, and the turns to his left and shouts, “ _Mikasa! Komm mit! Wir sitzen heute mit ihnen!_ ” A girl with a red scarf and pitch black hair looks up and wanders over, a banana in one hand and what looks like some variant of Gatorade in the other.

“ _Wer sind die?”_

“ _Ähm, ja, also-_ Levi, this is my sister, Mikasa. _Mikasa, das ist Levi, und die da ist Hange_ … Hange, also my sister!” Levi tries his best not to stare as German rolls off Eren’s tongue, his voice dropping almost imperceptibly in pitch and the solid sounds of the language seeming impossibly sexy. _Shit, foreign languages aren’t supposed to_ -

He’s dragged out of his internal thoughts by an extended hand and Mikasa saying ‘nice to meet you’ in an only slightly less accented voice. Levi shakes her hand, if for nothing else then to not offend Eren, who is still grinning broadly. They’re all promptly dragged over to the table where Erwin and Armin are sitting, in their obnoxious Team USA sweaters- just like Hange, Levi notices- and soon introductions ring all around, several other people from various countries having joined. Levi actually smiles once, when he shakes hands with Marco Bodt, Belgian figure skater whose career Levi had been following for quite a while (they both blush when Hange informs Bodt of that fact). Even Armin, deep in discussion, breaks off to allow Petra Ral, Ireland’s celebrated figure skater, to introduce herself as well.

Levi finds himself manhandled into a seat next to Eren, who clearly has issues with personal space, because his knee is touching Levi’s and as he scoots over to make space for his taciturn sister- who has a different name, but whatever, that’s not Levi’s main concern right now- his _entire fucking thigh_ ends up pressed tightly into Levi’s, Eren grinning merrily all the while. Light conversation starts up as Levi grumpily munches on his granola bar, listening with half an ear to the Olympians talk about their feats and their specific sports. Mikasa, apparently, is a biathlon skier, who has a competition later in the day. Moblit something-or-another, pulled into the crowded table by Hange (surprise surprise) is a speed skater for somewhere-or-another. Eren Jäger is, of course, a downhill skier, but Levi is also interested to note that he’ll be skiing Super-G as well. _More chances to see him in action_ , says the rational part of his brain, overriding the part that screams _in his skintight skiing uniform_.

“So what do you do here, while you wait?” Eren asks, glancing with a distinct lack of subtlety at Levi, who doesn’t turn his eyes away fast enough to be able to deny that he was staring (it’s not his fault though, Eren has a ridiculously nice jawline, and his dark hair lays just so…).  Finally processing Eren’s question, Levi turns to face Hange, quirking an eyebrow at her. She laughs.

“Eren, if there’s anything you should know about Levi it’s that he’s as socially constipated as his shit jokes.” When Eren furrows his brow, mouthing ‘constipated’ under his breath, Hange continues on, much to Levi’s chagrin. “He doesn’t have anything planned, and I’m willing to turn him over to you if you’ve got better ideas,” she says, leaning forward over the table and making a show of lowering her voice conspiratorially (only lowering her voice, not whispering; Levi doesn’t think Hange even knows what the word ‘whisper’ means). Eren’s eyes widen, accompanied by a grin (which reveals perfect teeth, and Levi’s pretty sure he’s never been quite so attracted to teeth before).

“I have plans! I wanted to see everything that is here, at the Village!” Before Eren’s even done, Hange’s already nodding along, and Levi can feel a sinking sensation forming as he watches the sealing of his fate unfold before his very eyes. _Well shit_ , he thinks as Eren levels his eyes at him. “Will you come with me to see everything, Levi?”

Levi groans. “Well, I certainly don’t have much choice, do I? Yeah, I’ll come, brat.”

Levi doesn’t want to admit just how much Eren’s visible happiness does to warm his heart. Because it doesn’t. At all. Despite the sly looks Hange’s giving him and the knowing one Erwin is. For Christ sakes he only just _met_ the brat, he doesn’t need-

His internal protests melt away once Eren grabs his hand, replaced by a vague notion of ‘I hope he washed his hands’ and a stronger one of ‘shit’.

“Let’s go now, Levi!” Eren exclaims, grabbing Levi’s tray with his other hand and standing up, pulling Levi with him by consequence. Levi lets everything happened, resigned to the fact that none of his friends particularly care. _Traitors, the lot of them. What am I supposed to do now, ditch the puppy?_ Eren shouts something in German at his sister, and she answers with something that makes Eren blush and a few members of their table- presumably of the German-speaking variety- laugh. Kein ficken am ersten something or another. Levi wishes he’d paid more attention the year he’d taken German in high school.

“What’d your sister say?” he asks after a few seconds of tagging along while Eren marches steadfastly to- yeah, that’s also a good question. “And where are we going?”

Eren’s blushing again. “She said nothing. We can go see the Iceberg and-“

“I’ve already been there,” Levi grumbles, overlooking Eren’s avoidance of the question.

“Oh,” Eren says, looking far more crestfallen than should have been allowed. Levi feels a pang of guilt, and curses himself internally for being such a goddamned softie.

“It’s fine, we can go there anyway. I can show you inside the lockers, or whatever…”

“Oh! That would be super! You are a coach, right? We can see _everything_!” Eren says, accentuating the words with an excited jump. Levi doesn’t have the heart to tell him that there really isn’t all that much to see that Eren wouldn’t be able to see from the TV.

Three hours later, and Levi wishes that he’d been right. Eren had been overly excited to see anything, and constantly asked Levi for the names of things in English, often exchanging the knowledge for the German translation of the word (which Levi promptly forgot, despite his best efforts to the contrary. The only one he had been able to remember was _Eisberg_ , because it was, essentially, the same).

“So Eren,” Levi begins as they walk out of the Iceberg. _Eisberg._ Whatever.

“Hmm?”

“Shouldn’t you be skiing right now?”

“Ah, no?” Eren pauses, looking up to the sky and thinking. “No, the next training is tomorrow, and then the competition is two days after that! And then one practice on the Super G, and then competition…” he trails off for a second, scuffing his feet against the pavement. “When do you have to coach?”

“Monday night and Tuesday night. In five days,” Levi replies. “But I have to make sure Erwin and Armin don’t do anything stupid before that, too…”

“Armin seems like a very nice person,” Eren says. “But Erwin scares me a little- he is… so not little!” Levi snorts, but can’t prevent a small smile from creeping onto his face.

“He’s a fucking giant, you can be straight with me, brat. He has to be though, to throw Armin in the air.” Eren hums and nods, then blushes slightly and grabs his stomach as it growls loudly. Levi smirks. “How does lunch sound?” Eren nods weakly, and the two head to lunch together.

After lunch- which is an eventful hour and a half of multilingual shouting and laughter, and an alarming number of crude jokes for what is supposedly a gathering of the world’s elite (on the bright side, Levi can now say ‘fuck you’ and ‘dick’ in about seven different languages)- Eren grabs Levi’s hand and takes him to the Adler Arena to watch some speed skating. Levi isn’t too thrilled by the sport itself, but Eren cheers along with other spectators and so Levi’s gaze fixes itself on the way he smiles and how his head tilts just so when he’s excited, and at some point Levi realizes that despite his insufferableness, he really like Eren more than appropriate for friends. _Way, way more…_

“Levi? Hello?” Levi blinks as Eren waves a hand in front of his face.

“What?” he asks, a bit out of it, glancing down at the track, which is currently empty. Eren laughs, and Levi feels his cheeks heating up.

“They are done racing, Moblit is third! But it is getting late, and I have to sleep well. Or my coach will kill me.”

“Mm, you have to train tomorrow, right? What time?”

“Um, direct after breakfast, I think…” Eren pauses for a minute, and fidgets with the hem of his jacket, He looks back up to Levi after a few seconds of silence, face still tilted down. “You can come with us, if you want to?”

Levi smiles. “Yeah, I think that’d be great, actually,” he says, and Eren’s face lights up, his grin spreading until his entire body exudes a demeanor of happiness.

“Super!” he exclaims, his accent returning thickly on the word. He leaps to his feet, and averts his eyes as he offers Levi a hand. “Dinner?”

Levi looks up at him for a moment, noticing, for the second time in such a short while, his cheeks warming up. He takes Eren’s proffered hand, warm and soft. “Let’s.”

He’s not really surprised when Eren makes no move to let go of his hand once he’s stood up; walking back hand-in-hand only turns out to be a problem once they encounter friends (who, for all their raucous teasing, seem rather happy, with the exception of Eren’s sister, who looks more concerned than anything else).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter hopefully taking less time, but it's also really long so no promises...


	3. down to the finish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, my usual disclaimer that I don't know anything about what I'm writing beyond what the Internet would bequeath to me, etc etc. ~~the only thing i claim to know is that Eren would look dead sexy in an Olympic skiing outfit~~
> 
> Soundtrack for this one is, once again, Cro. Specifically, [Wir waren hier.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_O2dfHqeLA)
> 
> Oh, also- this has been extended to four chapters. Sorry ^^ I wanted to get up something for Eren's birthday (missed that by an hour...) and also I thought the end was a good place to cut it off ^^
> 
> Enjoy <3

Levi rolls out of bed the next morning, somewhat put out by the blaring sound of his alarm. In theory, he’s sharing a room with Hange- her sleeping habits are particularly weird, however, and so far the only sign that she ever actually enters the room is the fact that the clothes on the other bed occasionally shift position. Levi rubs his eyes a bit sleepily, noticing that the clothes on the bed today are a bit more blinged out than Hange’s usual get up. It’s a few more seconds until Levi realizes those are his skaters’ costumes, and he has to admit, Hange’s (once again) done a great job.

Levi finally dons his clothes, the fabric running over his knuckles as he tries to slip his fitted T-shirt on. The sensation reminds him of last night- after dinner, Eren had claimed he needed the sleep, and had given Levi such a hopeful look that Levi had no choice but to walk Eren back to his room. Once there- it had been in the same hotel as Levi’s, much to his surprise, but in a different wing- they had lingered at Eren’s door for a while, simply talking about nothing. Then Eren had looked at his watch, and declared that he really had to go- and then.

And then he’d taken Levi’s hand in his, and gently kissed his knuckles, muttering goodnight against them. Even just the thought now makes Levi’s cheeks warm, and he uses cool water to wash his face. He gives himself a once-over, making sure he looks presentable before heading downstairs to find breakfast. And Eren. Mostly Eren.

Levi has no luck in spotting the German amongst the throng, and settles for actually trying to get himself some food when Eren announces himself with a bump of his hip against Levi’s.

“Good morning,” he says, smiling broadly. Levi grunts, slightly miffed that he hadn’t been able to find Eren.

“Morning. Sleep well?”

Eren shrugs. “Good enough. I think today will be easier. I know the course a little bit now…”

“Mmhm,” Levi says, pulling a cup out of the dispenser and setting down his tray in order to fill it with hot water for tea. Eren leans against the counter next to him, allowing a few seconds of silence to pass.

“Are you still coming to see the practice?” he asks, a bit too quickly. Levi glances at him, then half-smiles.

“Only if you’ll sit with me,” he answers, and Eren grins.

“Yes!” he says, and the two go to grab Eren a breakfast for himself- nothing heavy, just a light something so he isn’t hungry while skiing, and then go sit down at what Levi now considers their usual table (it’s grown, unfortunately, and those who arrive later have to pull up chairs, but the company is well worth it).

After breakfast, Eren goes and changes, grabbing his skiing gear, and Levi accompanies Eren to his training run. The ride there is full of raucous banter that Levi forgoes participating in in favor of listening to Eren’s rapid switch between languages. Once they arrive, Eren waves to Levi and takes the ski lift. Levi, for his part, once again shoves his way through the crowd until he’s right up against the padded rail. If anything, he’s even more impressed with Eren this time than he had been the time before (the fact that he was now well aware to pay attention to Eren’s ass when the camera panned behind him admittedly did help). Or maybe it was just that he’d spent an evening talking with Eren- well, more like Levi had listened while Eren talked, but the damn accent made Levi want to let him talk all night- but he can see the determined, concentrated set to Eren’s mouth as he mounts the starting gate, and when Eren shucks his helmet to view his time, his elation and pride are also clearly visible (Levi is rather elated when, afterwards, Eren makes  his way first to Levi to say hello and then to the other athletes and reporters asking about the upcoming competition- Levi can’t keep a smug grin off his face).

Now, of course, they’re eating dinner together again. Things go smoothly until a French snowboarder and Eren get into a fight; it’s on the verge of becoming a full-blown food-fight (which, for the record, Levi will _not_ stand for) until a snowboarder wearing the American wool abomination and a Swiss skier manage to sneak ice into the two belligerents’ shirts (Levi later extends personal thanks to the pair, who he finds out are called Connie and Sasha).

After dinner, Eren asks Levi if he’d like to go for a walk.

“Sure,” Levi answers, and Eren grabs his hand and they head outside, the temperatures just cold enough to warrant gloves as they stroll along the coast of the Black Sea. It’s the last minutes after sunset, and the sky is still red and purple- Levi can’t decide which is more beautiful, Eren or the sea. He settles on both. With a slight leaning towards Eren, especially when he turns and smiles at Levi, his eyes soft.

They’d been talking previously, but now Levi can’t remember what about, because Eren is standing close to him, his warm scent wrapping around him, and a hand on his cheek. He’s looking directly into Levi’s eyes, and Levi licks his lips once, causing Eren’s mouth to open slightly.

“Just kiss me already, you idiot,” Levi mumbles. Eren hums, and complies.

It’s everything Levi could have dreamed of, only better. When he feels Eren’s tongue against his lips, Levi opens his mouth, finally bringing his arms up to rest above Eren’s shoulders, pulling him in to deepen the kiss

They don’t stop until a wolf-whistle from the side reminds them that- well fucking _shit_ , they’re on a public boardwalk. Levi extends his middle fingers, mildly thwarted in his flipping-off-attempts by the fact that he’s wearing mittens (a gift from Hange, perfectly useable, and Levi had seen no reason to buy gloves when the mittens were perfectly warm anyways). Eren just laughs, taking Levi hand and beginning to walk with him again.

“So what does this make us, then?” Levi asks.

“Hmm,” Eren says, almost too innocently. “Boyfriends, maybe?”

“…you shit, are you trying to ask me out?”

“Maaaaybe,” Eren replies, grinning. He leans over and plants a kiss on Levi’s temple. “Does that mean yes?”

“Yes, you idiot, of course it means yes,” Levi says, not meeting Eren’s eyes and choosing instead to stare out at the now completely darkened water, waiting for his blush to subside. Not that Eren could see it, given that it was night, but. Whatever. Eren laughs and squeezes his hand, though, and finally Levi looks over- Eren isn’t looking at him, but rather off in the distance, his expression happy and serene. Levi smiles.

They walk back to Eren’s hotel room again in comfortable silence. Once there, Eren once again kisses Levi’s knuckles, only this time, instead of waving goodbye, he kisses Levi’s lips. It’s long and sweet, just their lips pressed together.

“Goodnight,” Eren says at last, and Levi waits until the door is completely shut before leaving, his face painted with a wide grin he can’t hide. _Eren fucking Jäger is your fucking boyfriend. Who’da thunk_.

The next day, Levi doesn’t get to see much of Eren- he’s out on the rink, running through programs with Erwin and Armin. That takes up most of the day between meals, and Levi finds that meals alone are clearly not enough time to see Eren. He’s thankful when, after dinner, Eren firmly grabs his hand and drags him to his hotel room. A very passionate make-out session ensues, Levi wishing it would never end. _Boyfriend._

Sadly, of course, it does end- Eren has to sleep well again, as his competition is tomorrow. Levi leaves, disheveled and with promises of coming to see Eren tomorrow. As if he’d miss it (luckily, skating is the day after). He heads back to his room, throwing his jacket at Hange when she snickers and comments about his appearance. He falls asleep still smelling Eren’s scent.

The next morning Levi wakes up with one thought on his mind: competition day. Realistically, Levi knows that he shouldn’t be nervous, he’s not even competing- but his stomach is nonetheless tied in knots as he walks down to the cafeteria, searching out the distinctive mop of brown hair.

For once, Levi spots Eren first, walking over and nudging him with an elbow.

“Let’s go sit down?” he asks, and Eren nods. They sit next to each other again, but this time, Eren makes no move to pretend that the fact their thighs are fully pressed together is accidental, even going as far as to set his hand on Levi’s leg once he’s done eating, running it up and down.

“Are you ready?” Levi says around his granola bar. Eren gives him a pained look.

“Very nervous,” he replies. “This is the first time I’m at a competition this big…” he looks down at this cup, fiddling with it. “And so much pressure. All of Germany will watch.” Levi snorts. Eren looks at him with a pout. “Not _all_ , but _many_. So _many_.”

Levi places a hand on Eren’s shoulder, leaning in close enough to kiss his nose. “You’ll be fine, brat. I saw you ski. Twice. You threw snow in my face both times, remember?” he says, poking Eren in the side and watching him jump minutely. “You’re good. You got this.”

Eren seems to contemplate his words for a moment, before nodding resolutely. “Thank you,” he says. “I will try my best.”

“Good,” Levi replies, throwing the granola bar wrapper down onto his tray (why he still insists on using a tray, even he doesn’t know). He places his hands on both sides of it. “Should we go get you ready?” Eren nods, and the two stand up and bid the rest of their table goodbye, most of them shouting some form of good luck to Eren. His sister, especially, gets up to give him a hug and a stern German talking-to.

Getting Eren ready consists mostly of Levi watching ( _very_ much in approval) as Eren tugs on the skintight uniform. Levi pulls up the zip when asked, accentuating it with a kiss that Eren’s quick to reciprocate, twisting around until he can plant his lips firmly on Levi’s. After a few seconds, Levi pushes him away, ignoring the downtrodden expression as best he can.

“You have a competition in like, forty minutes, so as much as I’d love to kiss you all day, you really need to get your fucking ass moving.”

Eren lets out a long-suffering sigh, but complies, sneaking in kisses to Levi’s forehead, hair, wherever he can reach whenever he can (Levi secretly loves it). They’re only one minute late to the van, but by then Eren’s quiet, moving into his competitive zone- several other people are still chatting away, so the ride isn’t exactly _silent_ , but for Levi, it might as well be. He surreptitiously laces his fingers with Eren’s, squeezing slightly. Eren looks up at him and smiles, and they pull into the parking lot at the base of the course, waiting while everyone else disembarks before making any motion to move. Before Levi can get off the van, though, Eren grabs his jacket and pulls him back.

“Kiss me?” he asks, shy and hopeful and cocky all at once. “For luck,” he adds, tilting his head in a way that has the full potential to make Levi melt. Pretending to be unaffected, Levi regards Eren for a few seconds, until Eren shifts nervously. Then Levi leans forwards, wrapping his arms up around Eren’s neck and pulling him down into a kiss. Then Levi pushes himself onto his toes, until his mouth is level with Eren’s ear- and whispers.

“Hm, well, if you win, I’ll give you much, much more than that…” He backs away, leaving one last kiss on Eren’s cheek before running a finger down Eren’s chest. Eren shudders, and Levi looks back up to meet his eyes, smiling languidly the whole while. Eren’s eyes are open wide, but he, too, is smiling, and now his brows are pulled together just so, all handsome determination.

“I think I will go win now,” he says, placing one last kiss on Levi’s forehead before exiting the van they’d taken over to the ski slopes. Levi gives himself to the count of five to pull himself _the fuck_ together before following. He sees Eren waving to him from the lift, and Levi waves back, making his way over to his customary practically-on-the-rail spot (apparently he’s a familiar face now, though, because a few of the journalists move out of his way without even being growled at to do so). It’s several tense minutes until the first skier goes. Then several more until- yes, finally, Eren’s up at the block. Levi sees his coach standing at his shoulder, motioning with his hands, and Eren’s nodding, but his eyes are focused on the course.

Levi glances over at the scoreboard. The leader is currently at two minutes and twenty-three seconds. If he remembers right, that had been Eren’s exact time on yesterday’s practice run- Levi cross his fingers tightly, even though he scoffs at superstition. _It can’t hurt…_ Then he looks back up at the screen showing the real-time broadcast- and then the buzzer rings, and Eren shoots forward.

It’s beautiful to watch, it really is- the way Eren’s body conforms itself to the hillside, the curving sweeps through the snow that his skis cut. The smoothness of it all- it’s so similar and yet so different to how Eren is off the skis, and Levi’s pretty sure that he likes it all just the same. Eren passes the point Levi’s identified as the middle, and Levi’s eyes flick nervously back to the timer, underneath the screen. One twenty-four. _Is that better? Or worse?_

Eren clears a jump. One forty-five.

Around the sharpest turn. Two-oh-three.

Coming into the final stretch. Two fifteen.

 _Oh my God he might actually win_ -! Levi fistpumps the air quietly, refraining from jumping as Eren flattens himself into the final downhill portion, once again not slowing down one jot in the final seconds, pushing his time for all it’s worth. Eren crosses the line, and Levi looks at the time.

Two nineteen.

“Eren wo-” Levi’s exclamation is cut short by the snow flung into his face as Eren finally arrives in his usual fashion.

There’s ceremonies, of course. Levi’s standing in all of them, unable to contain his joy- _Eren won, Eren won gold_. And then, a bit later- _my_ boyfriend _won gold._  It takes slightly more than an hour for them to get through everything- the German anthem ringing loud and clear over the snow- but then, finally, Eren has time to walk over to Levi. They look each other over for a second, Levi taking in the gold circle on a purple ribbon hanging against Eren’s chest, his colorful winter jacket hanging loosely on his shoulders. Finally, Eren breaks the silence, unable to stop smiling.

“So. I won,” he says, then suddenly he’s in Levi’s space, leaning down just far enough that Levi can feel his breath against his ear as Eren lowers his voice, his accent rolling the syllables. “What was that about much, much more?”

Levi takes a step back, praying for all he’s worth that he doesn’t pop a boner right then and there. He fixes Eren with a glare. “You, me, hotel room, now,” he says, grabbing Eren’s hand and heading back to the van.

It’s the most agonizingly long drive Levi’s ever had.


	4. out with a bang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch my pun there with the chapter title? ~~this entire fic is a pun actually i'm such trash~~
> 
> anyways! the E-rated section of this fic has arrived! ~~after an unduly long wait that i'm so sorry i subjected all of you too OTL i'm such trash i apologize~~
> 
> ~~there's over 2500 words of straight-up smut when did this become my life~~

The minute Levi gets Eren through the door, he pushes him up against the door, using the gilded ribbon around Eren’s neck to pull him down into a rough kiss- or, as rough as it can be, given that Eren’s lips are soft despite being slightly chapped. Levi runs his tongue over the grooves in Eren’s lips, and Eren’s mouth opens in response-

“Ähm…”

Eren pulls away with a terrifying speed. “Ach, scheiße…”

“…ja.”

With a sigh, Levi turns and glares at- at the person sitting on the bed opposite Eren’s. The roommate. That Eren had very conveniently forgotten to mention. Levi can’t decide who’s more deserving of his glare- Eren, or the person currently preventing him from making out with said Eren. He decides that, given he doesn’t really want Eren to leave, the other person can take it. And so he glares.

Eren, meanwhile, is jabbering on in German, and after a few more seconds Levi’s just about fed up with it (partially because- and not that he’d admit this- the German isn’t being whispered hotly into his ear).

“You, I don’t know who you are, but get out. Because Eren is getting laid tonight and I don’t think he wants you watching,” Levi says in the most menacing tone he can muster. Which, judging by the way the roommate’s expression grows slightly paler, is pretty menacing. “Out. Now,” Levi decides to add for good measure, heaving Eren off the door and pointedly opening it.

Roommate makes a face, but grabs a few belongings- clothes, computer, etc- and leaves, muttering something at Eren that makes him blush. Levi slams the door (and flicks off the lights, in a moment of afterthought- Eren’s bedroom has a large window, and the moon is out) as soon as the backpack is gone, and turns back to Eren, pleasantly surprised to find his mouth less than an inch away from Eren’s neck.

“Now… where were we?” he mutters, leaning forward and kissing the tendons just visible under caramel skin. Eren hums happily, the vibrations buzzing across Levi’s lips.

“Right there, I think…” Eren huffs, moaning as Levi licks a stripe up to Eren’s ear. Then, reluctantly, Levi pushes a confused Eren away.

“Get rid of your coat and your shoes. And your socks, those probably stink like hell,” Levi commands, and Eren pauses for a second, before narrowing his eyes. For a moment Levi thinks he won’t comply, but then his tongue runs slowly, slowly and oh so sensually over his lips, and Levi stares transfixed as Eren’s hands splay over his chest, slowly working off the buttons of his (admittedly) hideous coat- and then Eren whips it quickly off, and gets his arm stuck in a sleeve.

Levi laughs, hilarity overwhelming for several seconds, before Eren pouts at him and he finally relents, getting up and assisting Eren out of the coat. And is prepared to do the same to his ski suit- but not before admiring the way Eren’s ass looks in the tight, spandex-like material.

“Mm,” he says, and Eren peers over his shoulder, wriggling his ass a bit when he realizes what Levi’s comment was directed to. Levi retaliates by grabbing said ass and squeezing. Eren makes a noise that can’t be properly quantified by his vocabulary, and Levi smiles. Then he frowns slightly. “Turn around,” he tells Eren.

Eren raises an eyebrow at him, but turns around nonetheless. Levi runs his hands up Eren’s flanks, with enough pressure to feel the muscles through the ski suit. Then he moves his hands over Eren’s chest, rubbing small circles through the fabric where he can just see Eren’s nipples. Eren breathes heavily, and Levi grins, but doesn’t let up, simply continuing to explore Eren’s chest until he reaches the collar of the ski suit. Then he reaches around, up behind Eren’s shoulder, pulling down on the zipper. As the back opens, Levi slides his hands under the fabric, pulling it over Eren’s shoulders and down and off- but making very sure that the medal Eren won is still hanging from his neck.

As soon as Eren’s skin is bare, Levi takes it upon himself to trails kisses down that magnificently sculpted chest, drinking in the soft moans and gasps Eren emits, especially when Levi scrapes his teeth gently across his skin. He doesn’t slow or stop until the suit is hanging off of Eren’s hips. Levi presses one last kiss to the junction of Eren’s chest and hips before he stops, looking up from where he’s now kneeling on the floor.

“How far do you want to go?” he asks, fully aware of the way Eren shudders as his breath comes into contact with bare skin.

“How far you want to,” Eren replies, and Levi tsks, sitting back down onto his heels.

“Excuse you, _I_ didn’t just win gold, _you_ did. This is _your_ fucking prize, you shitty brat, now tell me what you want.”

Eren takes a second to think, and Levi privately thinks that he’s never seen anything as simultaneously adorable and sexy as Eren is in that moment. Then Eren’s pensive expression melts into a devious one, his eyes narrowed just slightly, the corners of his lips upturned.

“I,” he says, low and soft and practically _purring_ , “want you to fuck me.”

Levi gapes for a second at the veritable sex god staring down at him. Eren’s eyes seem to smolder for a second. Levi nods, then launches himself to his feet, throwing his arms up behind Eren’s neck and pulling him into a heated, desperate kiss.  When he pulls away, they’re both breathing heavily.

“I think I can arrange that,” Levi replies, smiling despite himself.

“Good,” Eren grunts, before grabbing Levi’s clothes and peeling them off layer by layer, almost too impatiently, until Levi’s standing in his boxer-briefs in front of a still-far-too-clad Eren. Eren reaches a finger down into the waistband of Levi’s underwear, eyeing Levi’s erection with a wanting look that goes straight to Levi’s cock. It’s quite the feedback loop.

As Eren continues to play with his waistband, Levi reaches forward, sliding his hands across Eren’s stomach before pushing down the rest of his ski suit, taking with it Eren’s underwear and- _gross-_ socks. Eren’s hand trails along Levi’s back as he bends down, throwing the clothes off to one side.  Eren has his other hand on his dick, slowly pumping. Levi licks a stripe up Eren’s inner leg, intrigued to find that Eren has shaved. He avoids Eren’s balls, choosing instead to follow the curve of muscle up the side of his hip.

Eren’s groan is barely muffled, and before Levi can protest, he’s heaved upwards, Eren’s lips finding his own as Levi scrambles to wrap his legs around Eren’s waist to prevent himself from falling. Eren’s erection rubs against his through his underwear, and Eren carries him over to the bed before depositing him on his back and shucking off his boxer-briefs, leaving him naked.

Eren licks his lips as he looks Levi up and down, before kissing and running his hands seemingly everywhere at once. It’s not long before Levi’s practically quivering, and he pushes Eren gently away, not wanting to come too soon, and grabs him and rolls him over, just barely managing to hit neither of their heads against the wall.  Damn the small Olympic Village beds, truly.

He bends down once he is settled, gently biting Eren’s lower lip until Eren opens his mouth fully, and then Levi runs his tongue along the roof of Eren’s mouth, feeling his entire body shivering under him, his hips bucking. Levi grinds down, trapping Eren’s erection between their stomachs and eliciting a loud, needy moan from him. Then he sits back, struck with a thought.

“You’re clean, right?” Levi asks. Eren furrows his brows slightly, miming soap, and Levi decides to elaborate. “You got any diseases or anything?”

“Ach so! No, nothing,” he says, and Levi squints at him.

“You’re positive?” he asks, just to be sure.

Eren nods emphatically. “I went to the doctor before the Olympics, and I also made sure to look there! Nothing! I am… completely clean!” he says, and Levi relents.

“Okay… well. I trust you. But just this once,” Levi says, trying to be tough (it’s surprisingly hard when Eren is laying, naked, practically under him). “Then… in that case. I brought some condoms. They’re in my coat-”

“Takes too long to find,” Eren says, reaching over to the small nightstand next to his bed. He pulls out a condom, tossing it to Levi, and a small bottle of what can only be lube.

“You wear one too,” Levi says, and Eren looks at him, confusion written clearly over his gorgeous features. “It makes less mess,” Levi elaborates, shrugging, and Eren nods and grabs another condom, and Levi forestalls him before he can open it. “Let me,” he says, and without a word Eren hands him the condom.

Levi checks the expiration date briefly before tearing the package open, pinching the tip and rolling it on over the head. Then he lets his mouth take over, reveling in Eren’s gasp. Summoning all his willpower, Levi all but deep throats Eren, using his fingers to roll the condom down the last centimeter or so. Levi sucks once, hard, before moving back and off, noticing Eren’s already dark cheeks darkening even further.

He opens his own condom, putting it on without much fanfare, only to look back up at the sight of Eren, bottle of lube resting uncapped next to him, already with one finger firmly in his ass, another one not far behind at all. Levi’s brain short-circuits, and it’s s few seconds before he can do anything but stare, his dick twitching with every lewd noise Eren makes. Eren’s up to three fingers, seeming to enjoy his audience, before Levi snaps out of it and scoots forward, running kisses up and down Eren’s neck as he pushes his gently backwards until he’s lying against his pillows once again.

“You should’ve let me,” Levi says, gently biting down on Eren’s collarbone, though secretly grateful that he won’t have to use his fingers- and maybe that’s why Eren did it, surely he’s caught on to Levi’s mild germophobia-

“Too late,” Eren grins, bending his neck away from Levi, and Levi takes that as an invitation, kissing and licking.

“Can I?” he murmurs, brushing his teeth over Eren’s neck to indicate what he wants. Eren nods, and Levi wastes no time in sucking a hickey low on his neck- Eren can wear a scarf to hide it, if need be, but Levi grins. He’s marked Eren- Eren’s _his._

Eren bucks his hips, his dick hitting Levi’s hip, and Levi chuckles, taking the hint. He scoots backwards, bringing Eren’s hips up slightly, holding onto his _very shapely_ thighs to keep him steady.

“Just making sure- are you _sure_ you want to do this? You’re allowed to say no if you don’t want to, you know,” Levi says, making sure he has eye contact the entire time.  “I won’t be offended. Or mad.”

Eren gazes steadily back at Levi, smiling just a little bit. “I am very sure.” Then his eyelids fall a bit, and now the look Eren gives him is nothing short of lustful. “Fuck me, Levi,” he says. Levi looks down at Eren with wide eyes for a moment- Eren, lithe body slightly damp from sweat, his hair converging into spikes against his forehead, purple ribbon sliding sideways across his chest, linked to a gold disc at its base, his cock hard and curved against his stomach- and, really, he finds that he doesn’t need much convincing.

The head of his cock is already lined up against Eren’s slicked asshole, and Levi tightens his grip on Eren’s thighs as Eren closes his eyes before thrusting forward slowly with his hips. _Tight._ It’s tight and warm and so, so _good_ , but Levi only continues to push forward slowly, checking himself with Eren’s breathing and making sure that Eren’s comfortable before going further. The fourth time he hesitates, Eren opens an eye, glaring balefully up at Levi.

“I am not breaking,” he grumbles, wriggling his hips from side to side to emphasize his point. Levi inhales sharply at the motion, and Eren grins. “Mm, you know you want me,” he croons, and Levi can’t resist the temptation to roll his eyes.

“Is _that_ why I’m balls-deep in you? I’d begun to wonder…” he said, sending vibes of one-hundred percent sarcasm at Eren, jerking his hips forward just a little bit more. Eren’s breath catches, but then he’s grinning and Levi doesn’t know how to feel about that until-

-he is _not_ humming what Levi thinks he is.

“Eren…” Levi says, as menacingly as he can given the circumstances, and Eren giggles, before bursting into song.

“ _I’m sexy and I know it!”_

“Eren stop this _instant_ or else I swear to God I will fucking get up and _leave_ you- _fuck_ ,” Levi says, cursing as Eren tightens his butt and bucks upwards, taking Levi’s dick with him. “Alright, you shit, you asked for it,” he says, and pulls out just enough before thrusting back in, and Eren moans, a sound so sensual that Levi’s pretty sure it has to be illegal.

They continue moving, Levi thrusting and Eren bucking his hips up to meet him, until Eren’s hands find their way up to Levi’s face, gently tracing his cheekbones before pulling him down into a kiss. Levi shifts his position, easing up on his thigh muscles for a few seconds as he exchanges breath with Eren. Then Eren falls back, his hair dark against the white blankets, and Levi blinks in realization that the sun must have begun to set- the light filtering through the thin white curtains has become markedly fainter.

Levi thrusts shallowly and at an angle, one hand holding Eren’s hips and the other stroking his cock. After a few tries, Eren cries out and arches up further, and Levi grins through his panting. 

“You like that,” he pants, striving to hit the same spot. Based on the way Eren reacts, he had more than enough success.

“ _J- ja, da, genau da-_ “ Eren chokes out, and Levi keeps moving, feeling his own orgasm verging on close. He strokes Eren’s dick harder, running his hand over the tip and squeezing slightly. Eren’s trembling underneath him, speaking in German, but the only word Levi can understand is his own name as Eren calls it out repeatedly, his entire body tensing as he comes. Levi’s not far behind.

Levi pulls out, giving himself five seconds of pure bliss before removing and tying off his condom, doing the same to Eren’s. He gets up to throw them in the trash, and then makes his way back to the bed, falling into it next to Eren, who cracks open an eye, smiling. He hums happily deep in his throat before extending an arm over Levi and pulling his close, kissing him softly.

“That was the best prize,” he says, squirming until he’s pressed right up to Levi’s side, his nose stuck in the crook between Levi’s neck and shoulder. Levi smiles softly, turning just enough to sling an arm over Eren. Eren smells warm and slightly sweaty, but Levi can’t bring himself to care. Their combined body heat lulls them both to sleep.

If anyone noticed that both Eren and Levi had missed dinner that night, no one dared to ask. The hickey clearly visible under Eren’s light jacket goes similarly unquestioned.

 

The next week passes in a blur. Armin and Erwin win gold (and start dating- _finally_ ) and Levi can feel himself bursting with pride- he trained them, he was responsible (at least partly) for that. Levi and Eren’s roommate trade places (Levi told Hange, but he doubts she’d’ve noticed anyway), which probably works to the benefit of everyone. He and Eren fuck a few more times, but more often than not they’re content to simply lay down next to each other and talk about anything and everything.

Until, finally, the day of departure arrives. The night before, Levi and Eren had absconded their traditional seating with their teams, choosing instead to watch the Closing Ceremonies shoulder to shoulder, their fingers interlaced, and with Levi’s constant sarcastic commentary flowing between them. Especially when the giant bear had appeared. That had been a bit weird, even Eren had said.

Now, they are eating breakfast together for what would be the last time in… a while, probably. Sadly. Their table is large, once again, but there’s a somber shadow over everyone. Contact information, of all forms, are quickly exchanged- seemingly everyone with a smartphone ends up with WhatsApp downloaded, and pieces of paper with Skype contact information circle about. Levi and Eren exchanged theirs a few days ago, but the flurry lends a touch of finality to everything.

At some point, Hange clambers onto the table, her hair a total mess and her glasses just enough askew that it bothers Levi.

“Hey! I’ll fucking miss all of you!” she says dramatically, before jumping back off. There’s a loud chorus of ‘hear hear’s after that, and then hugs all around. Even Levi tolerates a few hugs from people-who-aren’t-Eren (although he _does_ smack Hange when she tries to hug him, her face covered in (probably fake) tears- they’re on the same fucking plane home, _seriously_ ).

Then everyone goes up to their rooms to get their things, and Levi and Eren almost run late because they started kissing and couldn’t bring themselves to stop (Erwin had to go and fetch them).

Once they’re down in the main square, waiting for their shuttles to take them to the airport- divided by country, of course, and this time they can’t fudge the rules- Eren kisses Levi one last time.

They stare at each other, Levi examining Eren’s eyes and trying to commit them to memory as best he can. Of course there’s Skype and such, but… Levi really wishes Eren could come home with him. He sighs into Eren’s chest as they hug.

“Keep in touch, yeah?” Levi says as the last American shuttle pulls up. Hange’s gesturing wildly to him, and he figures that’s his sign to start moving. He motions to her for one more second.

“Of course,” Eren replies, kissing the corner of Levi’s mouth quickly. Levi looks into his sincere eyes, then nods.

“Good.” Levi finally lets go of Eren, turning around and grabbing his suitcase. “Message me once you get home, will you?” he grumbles, and starts walking towards Hange, who’s holding the door open for him.

“Levi?” Eren calls after a second. Levi pauses and turns.

“Yeah?”

“…ich werde Dich vermissen.”

Levi smiles after he realizes the meaning. “Yeah, you too, brat,” he says, handing off his luggage into the back and climbing in to sit with Hange. He spends the entire ride to the airport looking out the window and purposefully tuning out Hange’s inane chatter and suggestive commentary. The airport is equally boring and tedious, and as fucking clichéd as it is, Levi already misses Eren.

Finally, their plane’s boarding call sounds, and Levi is one of the first on-board. He’d been keeping an eye out for any Germans, but their shuttle hadn’t come yet and Levi had been forced to conclude that he wouldn’t be seeing Eren again before they left.

Hange, meanwhile, is also missing, which is only mildly worrying, mostly because Hange has the seat next to Levi’s and he doesn’t want to have to get up later and let her in. Whatever. The fucker can stay in fucking Russia for all he cares. Levi wanders grumpily to his assigned seat, shoving his carry-on into the storage compartments before taking a seat, pointedly closing his eyes and ignoring the rest of the passengers. After a few seconds, he fishes out his iPod, and puts the earbuds in, cranking up the volume.

He has a total of two songs’ worth of time before someone gently touches his shoulder. Levi pauses his music, but doesn’t open his eyes.

“The fuck do you want?” he grumbles, mostly because he _knows_ this can’t be Hange- she’d’ve just clambered all over him.

“Is that seat taken?” says an awfully familiar German-accented voice. Levi’s eyes fly open, and he tears his earbuds away, staring at the cheekily grinning man before him.

“You piece of shit! You never told me you were on the same plane as me!”

Eren shrugs. “Sorry?” he asks, but the smile on his face rubs away any kind of repentance his words may have had. Levi reaches up, grabs the collar of Eren’s jacket, and pulls him down into a fierce kiss.

“Sit your ass down, you’re blocking the entire fucking aisle,” Levi grumbles at him. Eren grins.

“Yes,” he replies, taking the window seat next to Levi. “I traded tickets with Hange. We are both going to Frankfurt, you see,” he says. Levi simply hums in return, interlacing his fingers with Eren and drinking in his scent. Eren leans his head against Levi’s as the plane taxis, and by the time they’re in the air, Eren’s fallen fast asleep, his breathing soft and even. Levi watches Sochi retreat under them as the plane banks, and he hums lightly to himself, running his fingers through Eren’s hair.

It hadn’t been a bad Olympics, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but no, seriously, thank you so much for sticking around this long, and all your comments and kudos along the way. you guys mean the world to me <3


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